Almost 40,000 Scottish households in remote areas have seen the arrival of superfast broadband as part of a £410 million rollout.
Residents in dozens of rural communities from Ballinluig, Perth and Kinross, to Springholm in Dumfries and Galloway will get their first taste of watching films online or streaming music
The traditional crofting village of Clovullin near Ardgour in the Highlands leaps from a service limited to 0.5Mbps to new speeds of up to 80Mbps while about 100 households on Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides will also benefit.
The Digital Scotland project is said to have reached another 39,000 households and businesses in the latest three-month period.
Engineers have now installed more than 4,840 miles of new cable while the 3,000th new fibre street cabinet has gone live in Orphir, Orkney.
Liz Mallinson, BT Scotland’s fibre broadband director, said: “Every day our engineers are bringing fibre broadband to more Scottish homes and businesses.
“The difference it makes to people from all walks of life and in all sorts of situations is amazing, whether you’re running a business or have the whole family online at the same time without any slowdowns or frustrations.”
It means more than 660,000 premises are now approved by the Digital Scotland partnership, which is led by the Scottish Government and Highlands and Islands Enterprise in their region.
BT is investing £126 million in the projects with Openreach, its local network business providing the technical knowledge.
Rural Affairs and Connectivity Secretary Fergus Ewing said 100% superfast broadband for all of Scotland was one the government’s priorities.
He added: “Enhanced digital connectivity will improve the productivity of businesses and help to build economic growth in remote and rural areas, transforming the prospects for those who live there.”
